Tobilola Ajayi was a speaker at the Rising Event – “When Life Goes Low, We Rise Up!”, hosted by Mrs Bola Essien-Nelson in Nigeria.
Tobiloba shared from her experience of grief over the years, especially losing her mum, her main caregiver at a young age. Tobiloba is a writer, a lawyer and an advocate for those living with disabilities. She is the founder of “The Let CP Children Learn Project”, which promotes mainstream education for children with Cerebral Palsy in Nigeria ( https://letcpkidslearn.com/)
Here are the key messages I learnt from Tobi’s talk at Rising, please feel free to share them with others.
- Life is extremely short, no time for pettiness. No time for squabbling. Make the most of your time on earth.
- You cannot afford to live by the opinion/expectation of others. The only person whose opinion matters is God.
- Get over your self. Focus! Life is too short to be thinking of yourself. Think about how you can make a difference to others
- Don’t allow anyone to legislate your grief. Grieve on your own timeline. We can and should question God. Express yourself openly to Him.
- No experience in life is wasted. God can use it for your good, for His glory, to help others
- Death is not the end of the journey. It’s a rest stop, so no need to be afraid of death
- Your body is dust. You should be more concerned of your soul
- God is not an egocentric Father. He’s not taking you through this journey for His own glory, but for others, for the generations to come…
- He comforts you so you can go ahead and comfort others.
- Don’t short circuit your grief process
- We receive healing by faith
- It is okay to cry and grieve, Jesus wept!
I hope this encourages you on your journey of faith and hope.
Blessings,
Ope x
